One more life
by MegaPrideshipper00
Summary: Alternative ending to the anime finale. This picks up during the final episode when Atem enters through the door to find his peace. I've only had the pleasure of watching the English dub, so I'll be using the names Tea, Joey, Tristian ect. Prideshipping!
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

They all watched as the golden door to the spirit world sealed itself shut. A heavy tension filled the room, but nobody broke the silence for that would mean coming to terms with what had just happened.

The Pharaoh was gone.

Yugi stood closest to the door and all eyes were on him as he brought his hand out to touch the door as he back onto his knees. _Yes, I am a champion. But my legs cannot bear the weight my soul is carrying right now,_ he thought to himself. A tear escaped his eye. Still, nobody else moved.

Everyone remained in their positions for what felt like ages, but only ten minutes had past when the room started shaking. Yugi stood up and shot a look back at his friends. This was it, it was time for them to leave. As he moved to step towards his friends, he couldn't help but notice they were all staring past him to the closed door that took Atem from this world. Yugi spun around, his round violet eyes widening even further as the door began to open. A bright shining light was all that could be seen from the other side until a human-shaped shadow began to emerge. Yugi's breath hitched. He couldn't get his hopes up, he just couldn't. Atem had been waiting 3,000 years and he had deserved his peace. Yugi couldn't be selfish, he had proven that he didn't need Atem anymore.

If they thought the ten minutes after Atem's departure felt like a long time, it was nothing compared to the eternity it took to make sense of the figure that stepped through the doorway.

"PHAROH!"

Yugi screamed and tackled the pharaoh to the ground. He was soon joined by Tea, Tristian, and Joey who were all going back and forth between sobbing and laughing. The others in the room were looking at the scene with amusement and confusion. Nobody noticed the door had shut itself once again.

Mokuba tugged on his older brother's sleeve, a huge smile on his face. "What does this mean big bro?" Seto looked down at his brother, trying to hide his relief upon seeing the pharaoh return. He wasn't accustomed to experiencing such a wide range of emotions in one day. He was surprised when Yugi defeated Atem in the duel and devastated as he stood in silencing trying to understand what that meant. His rival, his equal, was leaving this world and Seto was not at all ready for that. He wanted, no needed, more time with Atem and it looked like he might get just that. "I was wondering the same thing" was the best reply Seto Kaiba had. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

The friendship group finally quieted down, tears still running down most eyes. Ishizu decided it was time to get some answers. "My Pharaoh, you have returned." All eyes were on Atem, awaiting his response.

Atem took a breath and looked around him. He was extremely grateful he had more time here. He looked everyone in the eyes and gave them each a very warm smile, everyone smiled back at him except Kaiba. The CEO met his smile with a raised eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. Atem inhaled, looking down at his tan body and Egyptian gown making a mental note at how much more he liked the feeling of loose cotton than the tight leather his partner preferred. He couldn't believe he was here, alive, with his own body.

"I walked through the doors and all I could see was the bright light around me. Then a stone path appeared below my feet, I followed it for a minute but there was a fork in the road, so to speak. Then I started to hear a feminine voice. It basically told me the right path led to my afterlife, my friends, my family. The left path would lead me back here. She explained that although Yugi had proven that he didn't need my guidance anymore, I could still learn more from him and this world. She didn't think I was done yet." Atem slightly blushed, and Yugi instantly knew that Atem was leaving something out. "She told me that I would have my body if I returned, and once I have lived out this life, my afterlife would still be waiting for me. So I figured what's one more lifetime? I never actually have _lived_ past the age of 17." Atem chuckled and looked back at Ishizu for a response.

Ishizu nodded warmly, "we are happy to have you with us my Pharaoh." Yugi and the gang all seconded this, hearts full of the thought of Atem living out the rest of his human life with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

They finally made it outside, and while they all took a boat to get here; Kaiba insisted they wait on one of his private jets to pick them up. When questioned why he made everyone aware of the fact that Atem wasn't a registered citizen anywhere. Kaiba could feel everyone get a little uncomfortable at that, so he looked Atem dead in the eye and said, "I'll take care of it." Atem smiled softly, "Thank you Kaiba."

Kaiba separated himself from the rest of the group to make some phone calls. He had two jets on the way, one was for the Ishtar's so they could return to Cairo, the other would take everyone else back to Domino. Kaiba also took the time to dial a guy he knew that specialized in certain documentation. "I'll be sending you some information within the hour. I need a passport, identification card, social security number, and anything else you can think of by the end of the day. I'll pay triple what you usually charge." He hung up after hearing a correct response on the other end. Nobody dared to go against Seto Kaiba.

The plane ride went very smoothly. The friendship gang was trying to decide what they wanted their first week with Atem to look like. They asked him if he was going to enroll at Domino high, but Atem declined and said he wasn't going to go to high school.

Kaiba was on his laptop, gathering the information he needed to send to his associate. He added a high school diploma to the list of forged documentation needed. He needed to know Atem's preferred last name and his birthday. "Atem come here." Kaiba tried to make his order sound nonchalant as he casually scooted over so the seat next to him would look more appealing. Atem gave Seto a confused look, but stood up and sat down, nonetheless.

"Do you remember your birthday?"

Atem's brow furrowed. He couldn't recall his exact date of birth, but he remembered that there was a celebration every July in his honor.

"July, I believe. I don't know the exact date."

 _Alright, July 12_ _th_ _it is_.

"And would you like your full name to be Atem Motu?"

Atem stared at Kaiba with an expression he couldn't quite make sense of. "Yes," he said very softly. He paused, then added, "I still want to be called Yami though." Seto nodded and then gave Atem the middle name of Yami, a lot of people went by their middle name. "Anything else?" Yami asked.

Kaiba didn't want to ask about Yami's living arrangement. He doubted the apartment above the game shop had an extra room for Yami. But how was that any of Kaiba's business? He didn't understand why he felt this need to help. Kaiba sighed and looked around, everyone was in great spirits and he didn't want to ruin it with all the logistics of giving Yami a brand new life to accompany the new body. Nope, Kaiba wasn't going to say anything about it. He would just have the east wing on the second floor of his mansion vacated and guest ready by the time they arrived. Yami would be staying with him he decided. He needed his own space if he was going to learn to live alone in this day and age.

Kaiba had been staring off in concentration for a while now. "Kaiba," Yami stated waiting to get his taller companion's attention. Once Kaiba made eye contact with him, Yami continued his voice barely audible, "why?" Yami needed to know why he was being so.. sooo… nice?! Kaiba looked at him thoughtfully, not wanting to Yami to know how much his return meant to him… yet. Kaiba still had a lot of his feelings he needed to sort out, and he needed to be alone to do that.

"Nobody else has the means to get you squared away." Kaiba offered. It was the best response he was going to get and Yami knew this. "I appreciate it Kaiba."

" _You_ can call me Seto."


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Once arriving at the airport Seto had 2 limos waiting for them. The friendship gang and grandpa all headed towards one, but Seto stopped them.

"Yami, Yugi, we'll be driving you back."

Yami tilted his head back quizzically at Seto, then his eyes narrowed. That was the Seto Kaiba he knew. It was only a matter of time before would want to duel them as separate individuals, eager to win the title Seto believed belonged to him.

Joey responded rather quickly, stepping in front of both Yami and Yugi. "Now you listen here rich boy, just because you're helping Yami create an identity, doesn't mean ya get to order him around and duel him whenever ya want!"

Seto smirked back at him, "Who said anything about dueling?"

That stopped Joey in his tracks, that had not been a response he was reading for. It was Yugi's turn to speak, "Kaiba, we are really grateful for everything you're doing. Is there more information you need from Yami and myself for the paperwork?"

"We have further matters to discuss, yes. I'll send for everyone to be picked up tomorrow afternoon." Offering no further explanation, Kaiba walked over to his Limo, Mokuba by his side, and got in as Roland opened the door.

Yugi turned to his friends scratching his head, "well I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow."

Atem nodded his head absentmindedly in agreement. He was starting to get antsy, his senses were in overdrive. What a crazy past couple of days. The gang all said their goodbyes and Yugi followed Yami into the limo. They sat across from the Kaiba brothers and Seto immediately began,

"I have a space being set up for Yami at the mansion, Yugi you can stay as long as you want as well." Kaiba kept it blunt and to the point. Mokuba turned to Seto, his face lighting up with excitement and shock. Yami and Yugi, however, were just confused. They waited for Seto to explain.

"Did you have space for Yami?" Seto said addressing Yugi. Yugi looked down and blushed, he hadn't thought of that yet. He had gotten so caught up in the excitement of having Yami back, he didn't take the time to process the logistics of the adjustment. "It's for convenience purposes only as Yami gets settled down. I'm just here to help facilitate the process and make it go by quickly, so we can get back to that rematch _Pharaoh_." He smiled at Yami like he was going to be his next meal. He hopped covering up his intentions with his usual antics was enough for them to just accept the situation as it was. Kaiba would never admit it, but these were his friends and he had the ability to help, so he was going to do just that. That didn't mean that he wanted them to ask any more questions or treat him the way they did the whole geek squad.

Yami and Yugi just looked at each other. It was kind of a funny sight to see, how in sync their movements were. Yugi spoke first,

"Thank you Kaiba, we are extremely grateful."

With that, they took the rest of the ride to the Kaiba mansion in silence. Everyone was deep in thought, processing all the events that took place in the past week. Yami kept his head down, adamant about avoiding eye contact with Seto. Yami was extremely grateful for Kaiba taking everything into his own hands but he couldn't help but feel anxious going to the mansion with them instead of returning home to the room he knew. Yami sighed. It wasn't _his_ room. It was Yugi's. Although he and Yugi could make it work, he knew that this was for the best.

Not before long he felt the Limo slowing to stop. The door opened and Seto nodded at them to get out. They had never been to Kaiba's place before and it took Yugi all he had to keep his jaw from dropping. Yugi scratched his head nervously and blushed, "Wow Kaiba, it's beautiful."

"Hmph." Was the only response he got back from the CEO. Kaiba, with Mokuba at his side, started to make his way down the path that led towards the stairs at the foot of a large immaculate set of white doors with elegant light blue knobs on them. Yami and Yugi shared an anxious look and quickly followed. The mansion was incredible. The foyer was illuminated by a massive crystal chandelier. Twin sets of stairs were on both sides and the ceiling was incredibly high. The color scheme consisted of whites, silvers, and light blues. Everything looked so pristine and shiny.

Seto turned towards them, "The kitchen is straight through those doors, you can meet us there in the morning. Mokuba's wing is on that side, and yours is right this way." Seto turned right and led them through a hallway that had three doors on each side. He gestured to the left side of the hallway, "those three are bedrooms, two of them connect. The other one is being renovated. Goodnight." Before Yugi or Yami could get out a word, Kaiba swiftly turned and walked away.

"Well, I could really use some rest." Yugi smiled warmly at Yami, who returned the smile. "I'd say so." Yami went to open the door to his bedroom but was stopped by Yugi's hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know we've been through a lot, but I just wanted to let you know that you'll always be my partner and even though I can't automatically tell what you're thinking anymore, I do know there is something larger on your mind." Yugi blushed. He didn't feel like he was overstepping, but it still felt strange having to ask what his partner was thinking.

Yami smiled again at Yugi, "I still can't keep anything from you, can I? Here, come in." Yugi followed Yami into the huge guest bedroom with a king-sized bed, couch, tv, and bathroom in it. _Woah. I bet the other bedrooms are the exact same,_ Yugi thought. Yami sat on the couch, "sit." Yugi sat across from him, his eyes wide with curiosity about Atem and bewilderment at the guest room.

"So you probably guessed that there's more to why I chose to come back."

"Yeah.." Yugi sighed. He was glad they were having this conversation and wanted Yami to continue with his thoughts.

"The voice I told you about. She agreed that I was ready to join my friends and family in the afterlife, but she told me I deserved more." Atem looked down, a blush playing at his face. He was struggling for words, which was very unusual for him. "She told me if I came back, I would have a love I've never known."

Now it was Yugi's turn to blush. Yami had made it clear after his date with Tea that he wasn't interested in being any more than friends with her. Actually, Yugi had started to think that Atem might have possibly had a relationship with Mana in the past or afterlife. "Do you know who?" Yugi asked gently.

If Yami was blushing before now his face was indistinguishable from a tomato. Yami stared at the ground, "I think I do..." He sighed and looked up making eye contact with Yugi and forced a smile. "When I walked through those doors, I was immediately filled with regret. Not from leaving you. I knew that you were going to be more than okay. I regretted not saying goodbye to Se-Kaiba. Everything felt so unfinished between us. And then it dawned on me. I was going to miss him deeply and not just as my rival. I regretted that he had never known me for me. I… it's him."

Yami didn't really know what he expected his reaction from Yugi to be, but he should have known it was going to be nothing but supportive.

"Yami! This is great. You're living in the same place right now! He's been so helpful. This is great." Yami beamed at Yugi. His partner's support meant the world to him. "Okay, but I just want to let things happen as they will. I want to get settled in and well, you know him. He's _Kaiba_." They both chuckled at that and got up from the couch. Yugi wrapped his arms around his taller lookalike. "I'm so happy you stayed."

"Me too partner, me too."

On that note, Yugi left for his room. Atem eyed the silk pajamas with the KC logo laid out on the bed for him and started to get ready to sleep. He was overwhelmed. But so, so happy.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Yami woke up feeling extremely well rested. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept that peacefully. When he was sharing a body with Yugi he never got to physically go to sleep and wake up, instead, his soul just rested in the puzzle. Making his way to the bathroom for a shower, he couldn't help but smile at himself when he saw his reflection in a mirror. This was his body, his long legs, his tan skin, his violet-crimson eyes. He turned the water faucet on feeling giddy. The guest space was grand, and the bathroom was bigger than Yugi's room back home. He initially expected the luxuries of the Kaiba mansion to feel foreign to him, but he felt strangely at home.

After his shower, he began opening drawers in search of something to wear. To his surprise, all he found were silk bathrobes and more silk pajama sets. He briefly toyed with the idea of just wearing a robe for breakfast but quickly thought otherwise, so he opted for the pajamas.

Before heading towards the kitchen, the former pharaoh gently knocked up Yugi's door to see if he was awake. The lack of reply prompted Yami to peer his head into the vacant room. _I wonder what time it is,_ he thought. The sunlight illuminating the room indicated that it was closer to noon than it was morning and Yami hoped he hadn't been keeping everyone waiting on him for too long.

A savory aroma greeted Yami as he entered the kitchen and his stomach immediately growled. He didn't realize how hungry he was. There was a woman he didn't recognize in the kitchen. Seto was sat at the bar typing furiously away at his laptop, a steaming mug beside it. Coffee perhaps? Seto was wearing more casual attire than Yami was accustomed to seeing him in; dark pants with a light purple sweater. Yami couldn't help but think it made it him softer in a way. Yugi and Mokuba sat at the end of a long dining room table. Yugi had apparently opted to put his clothes back on from yesterday. Yugi's deck was sprawled out between them and Mokuba was picking through them asking Yugi questions about his strategy and deck choice. Seto lifted his eyes from his laptop, "sleeping beauty awakens." There was a smile playing at his lips.

Yami smiled at everyone and walked over to the table where Yugi and Mokuba were and sat down next to Mokuba across from Yugi so that he wouldn't have his back towards Seto.

"Yes, I found that the facilities were quite accommodating," he chuckled. It felt so good to be well rested he thought.

The women in the kitchen walked over to Yami and set a plate and glass down in front of him. She was wearing a white long-sleeve chef top and black pants. Her dark hair was tied in a knot at the top of her head, and warm hazel eyes smiled at him. "I hope you like it Mr. Muto." Yami stood up and extended his hand, "It looks delicious, thank you very much. May I know your name?"

"Sara." She smiled shaking his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Sara." Sara blushed, then bowed and walked back into the kitchen to work.

Seto Kaiba watched this all out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but think how king-like Yami was. _He'll probably know everyone's name in the house by the end of the day_ , he thought.

Yami eyed his plate. The breakfast croissant and orange juice looked delicious, and as he took his first bite an inaudible moan almost escaped his lips, it was so good. Yugi noticed and laughed. "How long has it been since you've had a proper meal Yami?"

Yami simply shrugged his shoulders, he was enjoying the food way too much to stop eating and respond. Mokuba let out a laugh. Watching Yami experience life was going to be fun. Seto got out of his seat and left the kitchen without any explanation and he returned a few minutes later when Yami had finished devouring his breakfast with a stack of paperwork that he set in the middle of the table and he pulled up a seat next to Yugi so that he was facing the pharaoh.

"So here we have all the documentation that you will need to," Seto said as he slid the paperwork towards Yami and reached into his pocket pulling out a wallet. "This is yours as well."

Yami raised an eyebrow, and Kaiba extended his hand to give it to him. Yami's mouth dropped open when he saw a government identification card and credit card in his name. There was also cash inside the wallet. Yami pulled out the i.d. and was surprised to find his picture on it. He didn't remember taking the picture, but this was him. "How?"

Kaiba face almost looked disappointed. "Are you doubting the authenticity?"

"No. I just, never mind. Thank you Kaiba, I am very grateful for your help."

"Yeah, whatever. Just know that we're going to have our rematch soon enough. It's time I got my title back."

Yami smirked, "Kaiba, the title is Yugi's now. You'll have to beat him if he agrees to duel you."

Kaiba frowned. He hadn't thought about it like that. Yes, the title was Yugi's but he didn't want to duel Yugi. He wanted to duel the person that's been across from him in the arena all this time.

Yugi chimed in blushing, "Actually, that was something I've been thinking about. I know that I did defeat you Yami, but _I'm_ not the King of Games. We accomplished a lot of our victories together as a team, but I didn't defeat the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters, and it certainly wasn't me who defeated Alexander the Great in India. I might be the current Duel Monsters champion, but _you_ are the King of Games."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine then. I guess I just get to duel you both. But first, you must go to meet your friends, it's almost noon."

"Where are we going?" Yami asked.

Mokuba was the first to answer, "You're going shopping! You need clothes!" Mokuba eyed the pajama set Yami was wearing and laughed. He thought it was an obvious next step.

"Oh, I guess you're right."


End file.
